Grant Shapps has escalated the government’s confrontation with the rail unions by ruling out meeting with them, as a shadow transport minister said lives could be lost if wages did not improve.
Labour’s Sam Tarry defied his party leadership to stand on the picket line at Euston on Wednesday morning while rail strikes disrupted travel for millions.
Shapps, the transport secretary, ruled out any meeting with rail unions even if the situation continues or escalates. In an interview with Sky News on Wednesday morning, Shapps said he was “not the right person to be in the room negotiating”.
Pickets were set up outside train stations across the country on Wednesday as members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at Network Rail and 14 train operators went on strike over jobs, pay, pensions and conditions.
Keir Starmer reiterated on Tuesday that the Labour frontbench should not be on the picket line. But Tarry told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “If we don’t make a stand today, people’s lives could be lost.”
He said: “Some of the lowest-paid workers are on strike today in the rail industry – safety critical workers, workers who make sure our railways get people to work and do so safely.
“It can’t be accepted any more that people just have to accept inflation is out of control. The government is doing nothing on the cost of living crisis, and I tell you what’s shameful – I believe strongly that if we had a Labour government right now, this dispute wouldn’t be happening because we would actually be around the table.”
Only about one in five trains will run on Wednesday, with some areas having no trains all day.
The disputes are becoming entrenched, with more industrial action expected in the coming days and weeks on the railways and London Underground.
The RMT general secretary, Mick Lynch, said in an interview with Sky News: “What we want to do is get a settlement. It’s a straightforward industrial dispute on jobs, pay and conditions and we could do that if Grant Shapps would allow the companies to negotiate freely.
“What we’ve got here is a protracted dispute because of the stance of this government and because of Grant Shapps’ attitude and his approach towards industrial relations. So if companies were allowed to act as all the other companies are, we would get a settlement.”
Passengers are being urged to use trains only if it is essential, and to allow extra time and to check when their last train will depart.
Trains are expected to be disrupted on Thursday morning, with a later start to services as employees return to work.
The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) has also announced a strike by its members at Avanti West Coast on Wednesday, while members of the drivers’ union Aslef at seven companies will strike on Saturday.
Shapps, when asked by Sky News when he had last met the unions and whether it had been months as they claimed, replied: “They don’t need to speak to ministers to resolve this because their employers are the people who have the mandate to negotiate this.”
When pushed to give a yes or no answer about whether “at no stage, even if this rumbles on, will you get involved”, Shapps said: “It’s a no.”
He argued that to demand his presence in negotiations was “a game by the unions” and said his plan was to modernise union laws.
